Carton



A om. 15, '1935, y MBURGER 2,017,650

ccccc N M. BURGER CARTON Filed May 29, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 (6 @la JZC. 15, 1935. M, BURGER l i 2,0750

CARTON Filed May 29, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet- 3 Patented Oct. 15, 1935.UNITED sTATEs CARTGN Martin Burger, Morris, Ill., assignor toSelf-Lockmg Carton Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication May 29, 1933, Serial No. 673,458

Claims.

The present invention relates to cellular cartons and has particularreference to improvements i cellular cartons of the type disclosed inthe copending application of John W. Cox, Serial No.

5 618,929, led June 23, 1932.

A primary object'of my invention is the provision of an improved cartonand method of erecting the same.

An additional object is to provide a carton which may be easily erectedfrom. a collapsed condition into an erect condition suitable for carry-`ing eggs and the like.

These and other objects will be apparent from a consideration of thefollowing description and by reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a carton constructed inaccordance with my invention and in erect position;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the carton shown in Fig. l takenalong line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Fig, 3 is a longitudinal section of the carton taken through the centralportion thereof as indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank from which the carton is constructed;

Fig; 5 is a plan view of the carton shown in Fig. 1 in collapsed orflattened condition;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the carton shown in Fig. 5 anddiscloses the rst step in the erection of the carton;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 1-1 of'Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a top fragmentary view of the carton showing the second stepin the erectionof the same;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the carton taken alongline 9`9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the final step vinthe erection of the carton;

Fig. 11 is a view of the carton showing it in a. modified collapsedposition;

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of a modified form of the carton; y

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section taken through the center of the cartonshown in Fig. 12 and represented by line I3-I3 of Fig. 14; and

Fig. 14 is a cross sectional View taken along line III-I4 of Fig. 13.

-In the carton disclosed in the aforesaid copending application, thetops of the cross parand revolving the cross partitions into verticalrelation to the walls of the carton. 'lhls type of carton is easilyerected but has the disadvantage of necessitating an added step in themanufacture of the carton, namely, the insertion of the tops of thecross partitions beneath the hooks on the longitudinal partitions. withmy invention the carton is provided with improvements by which it may beerected without the insertion of the tops of the cross partitionsbeneath the hooks on the longitudinal partitions. 10

As shown in the drawings, a blank is properly cut, scored and folded toform in, the order named, as shown in Fig. 4, a cover-locking strip III,a cover I I, a rear wall I2, a rear bottom section I3, a rearlongitudinal partition section I 4, 15 a front longitudinal partitionsection I5, a front bottom wall section I6, a front wall I1, crosspartitions I8 hinged to said front wall by means of triangular webs orhinges I9, and an attaching strip hinged to the opposite sides of the 20cross partitions by means of triangular hinges or webs 2I. The differentelements of the blank are suitably separated by score lines representedby the dotted lines shown in Fig. 4, whereby the folding or bending ofthe carton is facilitated.

In production of the carton the cut and scored blank is folded along thescoreline between the bottom wall sections and the front and rear wallsrespectively, the cover portion II overlying the cross partitions andthe attaching strip. The .at-

taching strip is secured to the rear wall by means of a suitableadhesive.

The front wall II is of less height than the rear wall I2. In accordancewith the invention the elem'ents of the carton are constructed so 35thatl the widths of the cross partitions plus the widths. of the frontand rear walls below the points at which the cross partitions are hingedthereto equal the widths of the front and rear bottom sections plus thewidths of the front and 40 rear longitudinal partition sections. Also itis necessary, for fragile eggs held in the carton, to provide a cartonwith a cushioned bottom, that is, a bottom which is suspended above aflat surface upon which the carton is positioned. To produce this resultthe front wall is lowered and the attaching strip 20 is secured to therear wall at a height equal to the height of the front wall. Thelongitudinal partition sections are then drawn up and suspended tothecross partitions, thereby maintaining the bottom sections insubstantially inverted V-shape.

The longitudinal partition sections are provided with cut-out portions22 adjacent the space of rotation of' the cross partitions whereby the.55V

latter may be rotated about the hinged portions I9 and 2I into avertical position in which the lower portion of the cross partitionsextend into the longitudinal partitions. It is preferred to provide avertical edge 23 on the back of the cut- 00 In accordance 5 out portions22 and adjacent the vertical plane of the cross partitions whereby tolimit the rotation of the latter. At the top of the cross partitions thelongitudinal partition sections are provided with hooks 24 which extendinto the openings 22 and cross the vertical plane of the crosspartitions. On the tops of the cross partitions I8 are providedshoulders 25 which are positioned in a. central portion of the crosspartitions and are adapted to receive the hooks 24 when the cross`partitions are thrust therebeneath, thereby providing a means forsuspension of the longitudinal partition sections and the bottomsections above .a at surface upon which the carton is positioned. It isto be observed that the shoulders 25 may be higher than the height ofthe hinged portions I9 and 2| when the cross partitions are in erectposition or the shoulders 25 may be at the same level as the hingedportions or at a lower level, in any case the dimensions of the hooks 24being such as to insure a proper suspension of the longitudinalpartition sections. Generally as the height of the shoulders 25 islowered the vertical dimensions of the hooks 24 are increased, that is,the under sides of the hooks are lowered in accordance with the positionof the shoulder 25. In the modification shown in the drawings, theshoulder 25 is at a higher level than the hinged portions I9 and 2|,and, as the longitudinal par.- titions cannot be subjected tosubstantial longitudinal movement the cross partitions must be rotatedinto vertical position prior to their insertion beneath the hookportions.

At the bottom of the openings 22 and communicating therewith are aseries of partition-engaging -slots 26 which engage the lower centralportion of the cross partitions when the cross partitions are beneaththe hooks 24 and prevent the 'cross partitions from being again rotatedinto horizontalposition. It is preferred that the openings 22 at the topof the longitudinal partition sections be of suilicient width to permitfree rotation of the cross partitions, this opening tapering off towardsthe partition-receiving slot 22. The ,openings or cut-away portions 22are sufciently narrow adjacent their lower portions to prevent the freerotation of the cross partitions.

At the end of the carton towards which the hooks 24 are pointed the lastcross partition is set back or spaced from the end of the walls asuicient distance to provide space for the end hook 24 to project and toprovide room for projections 21 on thelongitudinal partition sections toextend upwardly beyond the lower portion of the cross partitions andprovide means for securing the cross partitions in erect position.

When the carton is in erect condition the longitudinal partitionsections are prevented from downward movement by their being engagedwith the cross partitions and further upward movement of the bottomsections may be prevented, as shown in Fig. 2, by extending the bottomsof the cross partitions downwardly to engage the bottom sections.It'will be seen that the bottom sections I3 and I6 are inclined upwardlytoward the center of the carton and meet at a point from 'which thelongitudinal partition sections extend .thereby squeezing the opposedopenings 29 toisonly slightly wider thanthe thickness of the doublelongitudinal partition section. The walls of the slot 29 extenddownwardly past the openings 26 when the carton is erected and retardthe transverse movement of the longitudinal par- 5 tition sections. Thewalls 28 are cut so as to form ya substantial opening in the centralopenings of the cross partitions in order to facilitate the rotation ofthe cross partitions with respect to the longitudinal partitionsections. 10 In the front and rear bottom sections I3 and I6 areprovided a number of openings 29 along the edges of the bottom sectionsadjacent ltheir lines of jointure with the longitudinal partitionsections. These openings are preferably of suit- 15 able size andposition to receive the thumb and one finger of each hand of oneoperating the carton, the purpose of this being described morespecifically hereinafter. In addition to constituting a satisfactorycarton from the standpoint 20 of manufacture and egg-carrying eiclency,it is possible byvutilizing my carton to employ a new and desirablemeans of setting the carton up from collapsed position. v

As shown in Fig. 5, the carton is collapsed 25 along the outer edges ofthe bottom sections and is packed with the cover portion down. In thisposition the openings 29 in the bottom sections face upwardly and areaccessibleto an operator seeking to set the cartons up. In accordancewith my method of erection, the operator grasps closed openings in thebottom sections with the thumb and a nger of each hand. The thumbs andilngers are then brought together,

wards each other, which results in the score line between thelongitudinal partition sectionsv being pressed inwardly and thelongitudinal partition sections being brought into contiguous relation.In this position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 40 7, the cross partitions arein horizontal position and the longitudinal partition sections arecompletely therebeneath, the bottom sections not having a nal invertedV-shape, such as shown in Fig. 2, for example, wherein the longitudinal45 partition sections are projecting above the cross partitions. Whilethe longitudinal partition sections are in this lowered state the crosspartitions are rotated from the horizontal position shown in Figs. 6 and7 to a partiallyv erected 50 position, such as shown in Figs. 8 and 9,in which the bottoms of the cross partitions have been rotated until thecross partitions engage the vertical wall 23 of the back of openings 22and the longitudinal partition sections and the upper 5d portion of thecross partitions are pressed outwardly and' engaged by the front edgesof the hooks 24, the cross partitions being thereby distorted out oftheir usual shape and the side walls of the carton being slightlypressed in- G0 wardly to allow for such distortion. As will be seen fromFigs. 8 and 9, when the cross partitions are in this position the loweredges thereof are suspended above the partition-engaging slots 26. 05

From the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the l longitudinal partitionsections are pressed inwardly with respect to the carton until the hooks24 are above the shoulders 25. Relative movement is then producedbetween the tops of the 70 cross partitions and the longitudinalpartition sections, whereby the cross partitions are moved into avertical plane beneath the hooks 24.

To facilitate the operations described, it is desirable to employ asetting-up block in which a 75 plurality of projections equal in numberto the number of cells in the carton are provided, the blocks beingseparated by longitudinal partitionreceiving channels and by transversereceiving channels. However, it will be seen that the method of erectingthe carton is independent of any particular type of setting-up mechanismand may be carried out, if desired, by hand.

In Fig. 11 the carton is shown in a modified collapse. That is, thecross partitions are scored along their longitudinal central portion andthe carton is collapsed by folding the body portion along its score lineand the score lines between the longitudinal partition sections and thebottom sections, the longitudinal partition sections being foldedinwardly. 'I'his method of folding is of advantage since the carton maylbe erected by merely pressing it downwardly against a settingup block ofthe type described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 673,457, ledconcurrently herewith. When pressed downwardly the carton is heldthrough the openings 29 as described heretofore and the walls of thecarton are distended into erect position. 'I'he upper edge of thelongitudinal partition is received in the slide bent in the center ofthe cross partitions and along the score line of the latter, therebypreventing the longitudinal partition from being moved out of positionin the center of the carton. The erection of the carton is thencompleted in the manner described heretofore.

In the modied form of the carton shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 the upperportion of the carton is of house top construction in that the height ofthe rear wall is reduced by means of a score line which may be slightlyabove the level of the cross partitions 2|. The top is comprised of afront portion Ila and a rear portion ilb separated by a longitudinalscore line 30 which, when the top is closed, rests on the upper edge ofthe longitudinal partition. The width of the cover-locking portion I ispreferably reduced an amount corresponding to the reduction in height ofthe rear wall, thereby producing a carton which slants downwardly fromits upper longitudinal portion. An advantage of this type of structureis that when stacked in an egg case, as is customary in shipping, theV-shaped bottom of the upper carton straddles or fits over theroof-likecover of the next lower carton. It will be observed that the slant ofthe top of the carton is less than the slant of the inverted V- shapedbottom, whereby the bottoms of the cartons are suspended above the topsof the next adjacent lower cartons to provide a cushion for the eggs.When of this roof-like structure the cover of the carton rmly engagesthe tops ofv eggs held therein, this being of advantage since I havefound it prevents the tops of the eggs from shaking within the carton.Also, considerably less room is occupied in an egg case by cartons ofthis construction, which permits the cartons to have a larger; effectivebody portion. The carton is erected in precisely the same manner asdescribedV heretofore.

My invention is susceptible of modifications as will be seen by oneskilled in the -art and all embodiments coming within the spirit of myinvention are intended to be included in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton, comprising front and rear walls, cross partitions hinged tothe upper portions of said walls and rotatable from a horizontalposition into an erect position, front and rear bottom sections, frontand rear longitudinal partition sections having cut-away portionsadjacent said cross partitions, hooks on said longitudinal partitionsections extending across the plane of said cross partitions when thelatter are in erect 6 position, and shoulders on said cross partitions-engaging the under side of said hooks when the cross partitions are inerect position, said cross partitions extending beyond said cut-awayportions of the longitudinal partition sections to 10 maintain thelatter in contiguous relation, and. said bottom sections having openingsadjacent the lower portion of said longitudinal partition sections.

2. A carton, comprising front and rear walls, cross partitions hinged tothe upper portion of said walls, front and rear bottom sections, andfront and rear longitudinal partition sections connected to the inneredges of said bottom sections and being connected to said crosspartitions, said bottom sections having openings adjacent their edges towhich the longitudinal partition sections are connected.

3. A carton, comprising front and rear walls,

cross partitions hinged to the upper portion of said walls, front andrear bottom sections and, front and rear longitudinal partition sectionshaving means for engagement with the cross partitions, the widths ofsaid front and rear walls below the points to which the cross partitionsare 3,30 attached plus the width of the cross partitions being equal tothe widths of the front and rear bottom sections plus the widths of thefront and rear longitudinal partition sections, and said bottom sectionshaving openings adjacent the lower portion of said longitudinalpartition sections.

4. A carton, comprising a blank cut, scored andfolded to form a rearwall, a rear bottom section inclined upwardly toward the center of thecarton, a rear longitudinal partition section,

a front wall, cross partitions hinged to the top of the front wall, anattaching strip hinged to the opposite side of said cross partitions andbeing secured to said rear wall, said longitudinal partition sectionshavin'g cut-away portion adjacent said cross partitions, hooks on saidlongitudinal partition sections extending across the plane of said crosspartitions when the latter are in vertical position, shoulders on saidcross partitions V engaging the under side of said hooks when the crosspartitions are in erect position, and means on said cross partitions formaintaining said longitudinal partition sections in contiguous relation,said bottom sections having openings adjacent the lower portion of saidlongitudinal partition sections, and the widths of said front and rearwalls below the points at which said cross partitions are hinged theretoplus the width of said cross partitions being equal to the widths ofsaid bottom sections plus the widths of said longitudinalpartitionsections.

5. A carton of the type described, comprising front and rear walls,cross partitions hinged to the upper portion of said walls, front andrear bottom sections, front and rear longitudinal partition sectionsconnected to the inner edges ot said bottom sections, said bottomsections having openings adjacent their edges to which the longitudinalpartition sections are connected, and said MARTIN BURGER.

